Dumpit to Crumpit

Two strange sayings we have in our household:

Dumpit to Crumpit - What I say when I have to go to the Howard County Landfill.

Aw, pickles - What the boys say when they are disappointed.

So we often have the following conversation:

"C'mon boys, get yourselves ready. We have to go to Crumpit to Dumpit".

"Aw, pickles".

What's with kids these days? I used to LOVE going to the dump as a kid. I guess I haven't changed much. Not only am I on a first-name basis with all the employees of the Howard County Landfill, but I'm actually getting to know some of the seagulls, as well. Today I only unloaded $25 worth of tonnage, and I likely won't have anything to dump tomorrow. In fact, I gave them all the day off.

I remember going to the dump with my grandfather, Fat Leon. He'd bring a gun and let me shoot at stuff. Sometimes we'd see bear there, only I wasn't allowed to shoot at them, on account of the No Hunting signs. Not that I'd ignore my grandfather, or those signs, but its a good thing for those bears that I was a lousy shot.

Before I got married, I'd frequently spend weekends at my brother's house near Solomon's Island. Every Friday evening he'd put me straight to work loading the truck for the Saturday morning dump run. He has video footage of me, still in my suit and tie, loading dripping, oozing bags of trash into his truck. Garbage is kind of a social equalizer - at the dump, we're all the same.

My sister's partner Deb has a dump story that will have you in tears. She had a bit of a run-in with the gatekeeper at the landfill near her home in Maine. Yeah, dump stories with a Maine accent are the best. Of course, Deb could tell you what she had for breakfast this morning and she'd have you in tears. Last summer, we had a poolside family reunion, and there was a photo session. Everyone was posing and getting their pictures taken. Now I'm not saying my Mother in Law is stern and straight-laced, but, well I guess I am saying that actually. And if you act uptight around Deb, you'd better expect the unexpected. During the photo shoot, Deb parks herself next to my MIL, whom she'd never met, and sat watching the photography for a while. Finally she leans over and in a confidential tone says "You know, I'd like to lather Felix up and do a nude shot with him". Now THAT'S an ice-breaker, you see what I'm saying?

Ok, now I'm just rambling. Focus, FOCUS. So anyway, I didn't get as far as I'd have liked today, but all drywall is taped and skimcoated, and the door is framed and hung, complete with lockset, but minus the threshold.

Tomorrow, paint. You know, I just realized something. Who's gonna feed the seagulls tomorrow? Aw, pickles. I'd better go make some phone calls.